In 2009, MPs on the culture, media and sport select committee recommended that "the government should exempt venues with a capacity of 200 persons or fewer from the need to obtain a licence for the performance of live music" and called for the reintroduction of the old "two-in-a-bar" exemption.

However, the ministerial proposals are understood to go further than that. Large venues with a capacity of more than 5,000 would continue to be subject to premises licensing as before, but small venues would save on average £1,600 a year and be freed of the requirement to register with the council.

I think that this is a retained matter but note that the Committee "recommended" the change, plus ministerial proposals. I'll follow it up but think there is no change to the law yet. Worth exploring though, see if we can exploit a loophole.

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Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes. (Oscar Wilde)

Hi guys, I've just checked with colleagues at work (SG lawyers) and they say that licensing laws are in fact a devolved matter and therefore these changes made in 2009 are relevant to England but may not be relevant to Scotland. The reason they "may or may not be" is that although licensing is a devolved matter local licensing rules fall to the council - you should therefore contact the city of Edinburgh licensing team and enquire about what rules they have in place for Edinburgh.